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Thread: What did you do in the reloading room today?

  1. #11121
    Boolit Buddy Mandoair's Avatar
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    Been loading up hundreds of 9mm with fmj’s I ve had around since I went full time on 10mm. Shot a bunch of the 9s tonight. They all went bang.

    My life is so simple.

  2. #11122
    Boolit Master 243winxb's Avatar
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    Annealed some 44 magnum brass using candle & my sponge method. The very old, fired many times R-P Remington brass has started splitting in the body. Most splits are at mouth from many crimps.

    More of a test then anything else. Heat for 30 seconds in flame may have only stress relieved the brass?

    The wet sponge keeps the case head from over heating. Very dirty. Lots of black carbon black, but cleans up ok.

    Test firing next week, weather permitting. 250 gr lswc & 10. 2 grs Unique. WLP.

  3. #11123
    Boolit Grand Master uscra112's Avatar
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    Can a candle burn hot enough to anneal brass?
    Cognitive Dissident

  4. #11124
    Boolit Master 243winxb's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by uscra112 View Post
    Can a candle burn hot enough to anneal brass?
    Temperature + time. Google 2500F. I have done 223 & 6.5 Creedmore. Seems to work when remaining brass has stops splitting at necks. https://www.thehighroad.org/index.ph...oading.909184/

    The 44 mag may not anneal, as the wet sponge acts as a heat sink. At 400F brass is stress relieved.

    When the water in the sponge starts to sizzle/boil, brass is done .
    Last edited by 243winxb; 11-20-2022 at 08:23 AM. Reason: When the water in the sponge starts to sizzle/boil, brass is done .

  5. #11125
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    for what it's worth I have been salt bath annealing my 357/44 mag brass. I wallowed out a couple old n abused Lee molds to serve as heat sinks. Seems to work in that regards but have not cycled them enough to determine if I am mitigating the split mouths or not. This is brass I've been using since the mid-80s (Federal and R-P).
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails IMG_2693.jpg   IMG_2691.jpg  
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  6. #11126
    Boolit Grand Master uscra112's Avatar
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    Now THAT is clever. What do you melt the salt in?
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  7. #11127
    Boolit Master super6's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by oley55 View Post
    for what it's worth I have been salt bath annealing my 357/44 mag brass. I wallowed out a couple old n abused Lee molds to serve as heat sinks. Seems to work in that regards but have not cycled them enough to determine if I am mitigating the split mouths or not. This is brass I've been using since the mid-80s (Federal and R-P).
    That is clever! I knew was a better use for the LEE molds! LOL
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  8. #11128
    Boolit Bub TribunusSanGeorgii's Avatar
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    Working through tumbling sp .45 brass.

  9. #11129
    Boolit Master Rapier's Avatar
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    Decided to build a PSA Dagger, a modified clone of the Glock 19 gen 3. So did a few advances on the gen 3, trigger, sights, etc. Need to run a throating reamer in the SAMMI chamber to taper the lands a bit.
    Loaded some 115 ASP J bullet rounds with Unique for initial tests and shoots 1 1/2" not to bad for a compact but not real good either. just so,so. Now loading some 120 RN grain cast with AA #7, see how they do, do not expect to much with the square end lands. If I had a NATO reamer I would run it in.
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  10. #11130
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    Quote Originally Posted by uscra112 View Post
    Now THAT is clever. What do you melt the salt in?
    Thanks. I left the cavities small enough for the aluminum to clamp around the brass fairly tight. In the pic they are relaxed and do not show them tight against the brass.

    I use a Lee 4 pound pot cranked to the highest setting with a home built PID temp controller. During my last session I was having a bit of difficulty staying at my targeted 925F, so I have pulled the thermostat out of the circuit. Haven't tried it since though. I just liked the idea of having the thermostat in the circuit as a failsafe should the PID decide to go wonky on me. There are a lot of warnings about overheated salts becoming aggressive oxidizers, which I believe is a bad thing!??

    I bought the kit from Ballistic recreations several (5?) years ago.
    Last edited by oley55; 11-21-2022 at 03:03 PM.
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  11. #11131
    Boolit Grand Master uscra112's Avatar
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    Of course molten lead has been used for annealing brass and tempering steel for 100 years or more.
    Cognitive Dissident

  12. #11132
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    Quote Originally Posted by uscra112 View Post
    Of course molten lead has been used for annealing brass and tempering steel for 100 years or more.
    I have always wondered how they avoided the lead tinning to the brass.
    “Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem.” Ronald Reagan


  13. #11133
    Boolit Grand Master uscra112's Avatar
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    In the absence of a flux to break down the oxide layer, lead won't adhere. Any more than it does to a brass mould.
    Cognitive Dissident

  14. #11134
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    Quote Originally Posted by uscra112 View Post
    In the absence of a flux to break down the oxide layer, lead won't adhere. Any more than it does to a brass mould.
    What causes flux? I have lead adhering to my brass mold. I used a breath of two cycle oil on the face’s.

  15. #11135
    Boolit Grand Master uscra112's Avatar
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    A flux is any material (usually liquid) which will bond strongly with the oxygen in the oxide layer on the metal, removing it so as to present a chemically clean brass surface.

    Fluxing your lead alloy - same thing. The flux bonds with oxygen strongly enough to cause the oxides in the dross to yield up their metal and let it return to the melt.

    If you tinned a mould, my first thought would be that some of whatever you were fluxing your lead with wasn't consumed, and got carried unto the mould. Or possibly some spattered into the mould, if it was close to the pot while you were fluxing your lead.

    Fluxes are almost always acids of one kind or another. I'd be amazed if any sort of 2-stroke oil would be acidic.

    There's one well known flux which is a gas - hydrogen. I once worked where we brazed GE jet engine parts in a big retort that was flooded with hydrogen, and heated to 1800 degrees. The hydrogen stripped any oxygen off, but left no residue to be cleaned. Managing those retorts was.....interesting. If any air got in before they were fully purged with argon after the heat was done....boom!
    Cognitive Dissident

  16. #11136
    Boolit Buddy Mandoair's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by uscra112 View Post
    A flux is any material (usually liquid) which will bond strongly with the oxygen in the oxide layer on the metal, removing it so as to present a chemically clean brass surface.

    Fluxing your lead alloy - same thing. The flux bonds with oxygen strongly enough to cause the oxides in the dross to yield up their metal and let it return to the melt.

    If you tinned a mould, my first thought would be that some of whatever you were fluxing your lead with wasn't consumed, and got carried unto the mould. Or possibly some spattered into the mould, if it was close to the pot while you were fluxing your lead.

    Fluxes are almost always acids of one kind or another. I'd be amazed if any sort of 2-stroke oil would be acidic.

    There's one well known flux which is a gas - hydrogen. I once worked where we brazed GE jet engine parts in a big retort that was flooded with hydrogen, and heated to 1800 degrees. The hydrogen stripped any oxygen off, but left no residue to be cleaned. Managing those retorts was.....interesting. If any air got in before they were fully purged with argon after the heat was done....boom!
    That is all very interesting thanks. I did not tin The mold but for a few specs. And yes the retorts do sound like fun.

  17. #11137
    Boolit Master fastdadio's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 243winxb View Post
    Annealed some 44 magnum brass using candle & my sponge method. The very old, fired many times R-P Remington brass has started splitting in the body. Most splits are at mouth from many crimps.

    More of a test then anything else. Heat for 30 seconds in flame may have only stress relieved the brass?

    The wet sponge keeps the case head from over heating. Very dirty. Lots of black carbon black, but cleans up ok.

    Test firing next week, weather permitting. 250 gr lswc & 10. 2 grs Unique. WLP.
    To get away from the dirty candle soot, try using an alcohol burner. Use denatured alcohol from the hardware store.
    https://www.amazon.com/Alcohol-Burne...93384489&psc=1
    If you want fancy, this popped up in my search. Not sure how it works exactly, but might be the cat's meow for annealing;
    https://www.amazon.com/GSC-Internati...93383735&psc=1
    Deplorable infidel

  18. #11138
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    I seldom load less than 20g of 2400 in 44Mag and the new brass is definitely softer after firing. By the second firing it's like butter to size. I don't know that annealing is necessary if you have a hot enough load. I've got 3,000 44Mag cases in rotation so it will take me a while to find out. My early brass took about 30 firings to start to split so I'll know in about 90,000 rounds, if I last that long.
    Mal

    Mal Paso means Bad Pass, just so you know.

  19. #11139
    Boolit Grand Master uscra112's Avatar
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    A self-annealing load? What a concept!
    Cognitive Dissident

  20. #11140
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    Loaded up some Missouri bullet company 165 grain rnfp ( white tail bullets) I’m using 6.5-8.0 grains of red dot. These will be put through my savage 325c. I’ll probably wait untill after deer hunting shoot them. I bought 250 bullets from Missouri bullet company. If the preform well I’ll buy the mold.


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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check